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This Sunday, at 6pm, we will have our Christmas Tableaux. People in costume will make scenes of the Christmas story, while the story is read from the Bible. This year we decided to have all the people involved be adults so that as many children as possible can enjoy watching the tableaux.

Here are a few other notes about how things will go:

• There will be space on the floor in the front for any children/families who would like to sit there to watch the tableaux.
• Everyone will be invited to go up during the manger scene to see the baby Lord in the manger with the shepherds.
• Load shedding should not affect us. Even if Eskom has to escalate to Stage 4, the area we’re in should not be affected during the tableaux service.

Christmas and childhood go hand in hand. Much of the fondness that adults feel for Christmas goes back to the excitement felt when little. The connection goes deeper than that though. The Lord specifically chose to be born as an infant because there is something in infancy that is necessary for adult life: innocence. Without the innocence of childhood, none of us would be able to truly love and follow the Lord in innocence as adults. Just as Jesus drew on His own innocence as He grew into adulthood, we also draw on His innocence as we grow spiritually. As an old Christmas carol puts it: “For He is our childhood’s pattern; Day by day, like us, He grew.

We have the privilege of witnessing and taking part in the two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Supper. In some ways these two rituals seem worlds apart. In one, water is poured over a child’s head as he is dedicated to the Lord. In the other we eat bread and drink wine, symbolic of taking in the Lord’s love and wisdom. Yet these two rituals contain the whole span of spiritual life. Baptism represents the very first introduction to the Lord, the first glimmers of spiritual life. Holy Supper represents the fulfilment of that life, as we take in the Lord Himself to dwell within us. They are like two gates, and when we have gone through both, we are in heaven.

Life can be hard. Life can be lonely. Life can be overwhelming. A lot of things in life are beyond our ability to control but one of the things we can do is reach out. It can make a huge difference to us and to other people if we can have the courage to reach out — to reach out to offer help and to reach out to ask for help. Let’s talk about what gets in the way of reaching out and how we can learn to still reach out anyway.

Wouldn’t it be nice if someone else could do all the work of getting into heaven for us? In traditional Christianity this idea takes the form of “substitutionary atonement,” the idea that because Christ suffered for our sin, we don’t have to. This idea is rejected in the New Church, but it is still appealing to believe we don’t have to do spiritual work because the Lord is doing it for us. While we could do nothing without the Lord, we actually need to take full responsibility for our spiritual lives. After all, no one else can do it for us.

We’re doing a series called “Appealing Heresies” which is about ideas that sound good and sound true but actually are quite problematic when you think them through. This Sunday evening we’re talking about the appealing idea that everyone can go to heaven, no matter what they believe. Many people believe this. Many people think this is what the New Church teaches. It’s not. What’s wrong with this idea? Come on Sunday evening as we unpack the implications of this appealing heresy and try to understand what the Lord actually teaches on this topic.

You can’t buy your way into heaven, no matter how much wealth you amass. That won’t come as a surprise to most of you. Yet somehow, subconsciously, we end up trying. Every time we feel entitled to reward because of our good deeds, we have diminished good deeds to a mere currency with which we can buy a slice of heaven. Every time we feel slighted for the ill fortune that befalls us in spite of our goodness, we have reduced God’s living Providence into a mere balance sheet of good countered by evil. It is only when we realize that goodness is its own reward that we can be free from the allure of heaven as a reward. Heaven is not a reward; heaven is the natural result of a life of goodness.

What does it mean to covet? Do you know how to recognise when you’re coveting? More importantly, do you know how to repent from coveting? The teachings of the New Church say that the two commandments about coveting cover some pretty important things for us to work on. We can learn to notice when we’re coveting and, with the Lord’s help, we can repent from coveting. Come find out how.

Looking for the repentance worksheets? Find them here: Repentance Worksheets and Resources.

The Ten Commandments forbid saying things that are not true; or do they? The 8th commandment is often summarized as “you shall not lie,” but it actually reads, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.” This wording is significant. It implies something broader then just telling facts or lies. Even the “truth” can be used to bear false witness against someone. We are called to heed our thoughts and our words, making sure that they are not only factually correct, but that they bear witness to the true goodness of character of the people around us.